370 FABLES. 



such an exquisite relish and seasoning to a dish, 

 as these two will confer on the plainest fare. 

 Indolent epicures have no true taste: they subsist 

 entirely by whets and provocatives of appetite; 

 but he whose stomach is braced and strengthened 

 by exercise, has a whet within himself, which adds 

 a poignancy to every morsel that he eats. Provi- 

 dence seems to have carved out its blessings with 

 an equal hand, and what it has denied to the poor 

 in one way, it has amply supplied them with in 

 another: if it have withheld riches, it has given 

 them a greater store of health; and if it have 

 refused them the means of luxury, it has at least 

 formed them with the capacity of living as happily 

 without it. And it may further be observed, that 

 if we except hereditary diseases, almost every 

 other ailment may be laid to the account of in- 

 dolence, intemperance, or anxiety of mind. 



